Designers seem to associate lighting with sexuality. Take the Andressa Glam and the Love You Love You Not Chandelier, for instance. Shapes and illumination lend themselves well to the sensual metaphor—and the Cindy Lamp is no exception. Created by Ferruccio Laviani for Kartell, the Cindy Lamp is like a long-lost love. She used to be the girl next door, but time has intensified her wholesome good looks, turning her into a veritable vixen.

Cindy Lamp. Designed by Ferruccio Laviani for Kartell.

The Cindy Lamp seems to be a tribute to the past, with its monochromatic scheme and shiny materials. But it takes an energy-saving bulb and uses prismatic colors that are so saturated they seem virtual. Kartell and Laviani have a relationship that goes way back: Laviani has been designing Kartell’s booths for the Milan Furniture Shows since 1991. Like the 2008 Kartell offerings, whose theme was “Play with Colours,” the Cindy Lamp also showcases “a triumph of colours celebrating Kartell’s relentless creative verve and quest for innovation.” The array of Cindy Lamps in their metallic hues are almost literally “the creative fruits” of Kartell’s designers; they resemble futuristic edibles, a group of yet-to-be-discovered fruits, perhaps from another planet.

The cone-shaped shade and curvaceous base of the Cindy Lamp add another dimension of desire to the already wanton colors, as shiny as spilled nail polish and iridescent eye shadow. You won’t find Cindy on the website of either Ferruccio Laviani or Kartell—not yet anyway. Keep your eyes peeled for this shiny showstopper next week at Salone.